Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Ogun State Police Command has said three Indians and a Nigerian who were kidnapped on June 30 at the Ilisan axis of the Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin Expressway have been rescued.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Abiodun Alamutu, made the disclosure at a press briefing held at the Command’s Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Some foreign nationals were reported to have been abducted by gunmen at the Ilishan axis of the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode- Benin Expressway on June 30.
Following the incident, the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday issued a marching order to the police and other security agencies in the state to go after the Kidnappers of the foreign nationals, who were abducted the first day they landed in the country.
Briefing newsmen on the matter, on Wednesday, Alamutu revealed that the kidnappers were engaged in a fiece gun battle with members of the Command’s Anti-kidnapping Squad but later succumbed to the superior firepower of the policemen who killed two suspects, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
He said: “The kidnappers emerged from an unregistered Venza car, fired shots at the driver’s side tyres and another at the rear side of the driver forcing the vehicle to a stop. Subsequently, they forcefully abducted the occupants of the vehicle and fled towards Ijebu-Ode.
“Upon receiving the distress call, the Anti-kidnapping Squad of the Ogun State Police Command was dispatched with explicit instructions to pursue and apprehend the suspects.
“Through a covert operation, the suspects were located in a bush where they were hiding. Upon noticing the police officers’ flashlights, they engaged them in a gun battle. The Anti-kidnapping squad’s superior fire power led to the elimination of two suspects while the remaining criminals escaped with gunshot injuries, leaving behind their operational weapons.
“The victims, who were later identified as one Nigerian and three Indian nationals, were safely rescued unharmed and have been united with their families”, Alamutu stated.
The police commissioner said items recovered from the scene of the crime include five AK-47 rifles, 105 rounds of 7.62mm ammunitions, eight AK 47 magazines, and two cell phones.
On careful examination of the rifles by operatives of the police command, different demoninations of foreign currencies and that of Nigeria, were discovered tucked inside the rifles, indicating the possible involvement of foreign nationals in the kidnapping, he added.
The CP while reiterating that the state’s security architecture was working round the clock to ensure the safety of lives and property of the citizenry, especially along the axis where the incident took place, appealed to members of the public to report any suspicious persons with gun wounds to the nearest police station.
